<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xmlns:gale="http://gale.tue.nl/adaptation">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="../resources/style.css" type="text/css" />
<title></title>
</head>

<body>
<h1>Courts </h1>

<p>There are four main types of courts depending on the materials
used for the court surface: clay courts, hard courts, grass courts and
carpet courts. Each playing surface has its own characteristics which
affect the playing style of the game.</p>

<p>Of the <gale:a href="granslam">Grand Slam</gale:a> tournaments, the U.S. Open and Australian Open
use hardcourts (though both used grass courts in the past, and the U.S.
Open also used clay courts from 1975 through 1977), the French Open is
played on clay (though it too was played on grass before 1928), and
Wimbledon has always been played on grass.</p>

<h2>Clay Court </h2>
<table>
	<tr>
		<td>
<p>A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court.
Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is
slower than the green, or Har-Tru "American" clay. The French Open uses
clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.</p>

<p>
Clay courts are more common in Continental Europe and Latin America than in the United States, Canada or Britain. In the United States, courts made of green clay, also known as "rubico", are often called "clay", but are not made of the same clay used in most European and Latin American countries. Although cheaper to construct than other types of tennis courts, the maintenance costs of clay are high as the surface must be rolled to preserve flatness. The water content must also be balanced; green courts are often sloped in order to allow water run-off.
</p>
<p>Clay courts are considered "slow", because the balls bounce
relatively high and more slowly, making it more difficult for a player
to hit an unreturnable shot. Points are usually longer as there are
fewer winners. Therefore, clay courts heavily favor baseliners who are
consistent and are generally more defensive, which has allowed players
such as Rafael Nadal, Björn Borg and Justine Henin to find success at
the French Open. Offensive baseliners with powerful groundstrokes have
also found success on clay. This is especially true for taller players
because the higher bounces land in their hitting zones, which has
allowed women players such as Ana Ivanović, Jelena Janković and Dinara
Safina to have success on clay courts.</p>

<p>
There are three different types of clay:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Red Clay: Almost all red "clay" courts are made not of natural clay but of crushed brick that is packed to make the court. The crushed brick is then covered with a topping of other crushed particles. This type of surface does not absorb water easily and is the most common in Europe and Latin America. True natural clay courts are rare because they take two to three days to dry.</li>
<li>Green clay: Green clay, Har-Tru or "American" clay, is
similar to red clay, the differences being that it is slightly harder
and faster. Green clay is packed to make the subsurface. It is then
covered with a topping. These clay courts can be found in all 50 of
the United States but are located primarily in the Eastern and
Southern states</li>
<li>Blue clay: Ion Ţiriac, Romanian owner of the Madrid Masters
that as of 2009 is being played on clay, has proposed a new blue clay
surface, the color of principal sponsor Mutua Madrileña, for future
editions of the tournament. This controversial change is still
pending for acceptance on the players' side</li>
</ul>
		</td>
		<td>
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/ND_DN_2006FO.jpg/300px-ND_DN_2006FO.jpg" alt="" />
		</td>
	</tr>
</table>

<h2>Grass court </h2>
<table>
	<tr>
		<td>
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Federer_Wimbledon_2006.JPG/300px-Federer_Wimbledon_2006.JPG" alt="" />		
		</td>
		<td>
<p>A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis
court. Grass courts are made of rye grass in different compositions
depending on the tournament. Wimbledon, with 100 percent rye grass, is
considered to be slower than other grass courts such as Queen's in
London, and 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.</p>
<p>Although more traditional than other types of tennis courts, maintenance costs of grass courts are higher than those of hard courts and clay courts. Grass courts need to be reseeded every year, and (in the absence of suitable covers) must be left for the day if rain appears, as the grass becomes very slippery when wet.
</p>
<p><b>Play: </b>Because the court is often slippery, the ball often skids and bounces low, rarely rising above knee height, while retaining most of its speed, and, in addition, there are often bad bounces. Therefore, players must reach the ball faster, and, as a result, the fast, low bounces keep the rallies short; therefore, speed is rewarded on grass. As a result, on grass, the serve and return play a huge part in determining the outcome of the point, so it is very important to hold serve. Since points tend to be short, it is important to keep good focus, because any lapse of concentration can lead to a service break.
</p>
		</td>
	</tr>
</table>
<p>Consequently, most grass courts heavily favour serve and volleyers who are more aggressive and willing to sacrifice points in order for more winners overall. Serve and volleyers make it a target to finish the points off quickly, and allow the ball to bounce as little as possible on their side of the net. Serve and volley players take advantage of the surface by serving the ball (usually a slice serve because of its effectiveness on grass), and then running to the net to cut off the return of serve, leaving their opponent with little time to reach the low-bouncing, fast-moving ball. Therefore, it is important to move in after the serve or the short/mid-court ball, and win the point with a volley or overhead. In addition, players often hit flatter shots to increase power, and allow the ball to travel faster after and before the ball hits the ground. However, Wimbledon, the most prestigious grass tournament, has slowed down its grass courts as early as 2001, with players stating that the courts of Wimbledon have become slower, heavier, and high bouncing.[1] In 2001, organizers at Wimbledon had changed the grass to 100% perennial rye, in addition to changing to a harder and denser soil, which resulted in a higher bounce to the ball -- earning Wimbledon grass the unwanted nickname of “green clay". Grass specialist, Tim Henman, voiced out against this change in 2002, by stating, "What on earth is going on here? I'm on a grass court and it's the slowest court I've played on this year."[2] As a result, baseline play has become a preferred approach at Wimbledon, as opposed to the serve and volley of the past.
</p>

<p>
	s: <gale:variable expr="${#suitability}" />.
	v: <gale:variable expr="${#visited}" />.
	k: <gale:variable expr="${#knowledge}" />.
</p>

</body>
</html>
